As anyone who ever travels by train from Bradford Interchange to Leeds and back will know only too well, the track-side has been a mess for years. Fly-tippers have seen to that, throwing their rubbish down the embankment to create an appalling first impression for visitors to this city.

Hopefully, when the Queen makes that journey by rail into Bradford tomorrow she won't see that approach corridor at its worst, for Network Rail has undertaken a £5,000 clean-up of the immediate approaches to the station. Further work to clean up the embankments along the line to New Pudsey is expected to cost a further £20,000.

At least this should ensure royal eyes aren't offended - but the unholy mess has affronted regular travellers every day for years and it shouldn't take a royal visit to prompt action.

Not only does it make the journey to and from the city unpleasant for local rail-users, it creates an extremely poor impression for outsiders, helping to prompt comments like the unfortunate ones published this week by the Lonely Planet travel guide.

It's tempting to blame Network Rail for allowing the track-side to deteriorate so badly in the first place but the company, which says that fly-tippers and graffiti-daubers cost it millions of pounds a year, isn't responsible for creating the mess. The real blame lies with those who dump household items irresponsibly or avoid the cost of disposing of trade waste legally by passing it on to the rest of society.

Network Rail and Metro, however, both have a responsibility to play their part in making Bradford a pleasant place in which to travel and visit - as well as a vested interest in attracting more people to use their services.